Girl who Speaks to Birds

Chapter 1

I stepped outside, taking in the smell. Birds chirped, and the wind blew softly. I looked at the barn that my parents referred to as the animal sanctuary. According to my parents, they take care of sick and injured animals and then release them back into the wild.

I had told them many times how I wanted to help out, but they denied me that privilege, saying that I wasn't old enough. I'm freaking fifteen! How much older do I have to be?

I sighed, sitting down on the bench. It was a pretty cool bench, actually. It was between two trees. One was still living, and one was cut down because it had died. One of the ends rested on the stump. As I was sitting there, I heard the birds chirp and the wind whistle, and saw a squirrel look at me with a certain curiosity.

"Hi, little fella." I cooed. He scampered up the tree, taking glances at me as he ran.

"Weird," I muttered. And it was. I doubted that I had ever seen such a display of curiosity in such a small animal.

You're probably wondering what's with all this rambling about pointless things, and I agree that it's quite pointless. Well, it seems that was. The thing about the squirrel is quite important. But, I'm getting to the most important part.

I had been sitting there, just wondering, waiting. Waiting for what? That, I did not know, but I waited.

Then, I heard a distressed chirping. A songbird chirp. And it sounded like it was hurt. Maybe, just maybe, this is what I needed to prove that I was ready to take care of injured animals! After all, I had tried everything else, from pet-sitting to dog walking, to volunteering at the animal shelter. If that wasn't experience, then this was.

The chirping was still there, and I stood up, searching for the source of the noise. I walked around the yard, looking for the bright reds and yellows commonly seen on songbirds.

Just as I was about to give up, I saw a canary in the grass, chirping. It's wing was bent at an awkward angle. Probably broken. I carried it over to the bench, where it continued it's chirps. Now, to make a splint - or something to hold the wing in place.

What happened next was the really weird, really important thing.

The canary spoke.

Yes, I said spoke.

"Hello, Madelyn," it began "Do not fear. All will be alright. Be calm."

The canary glowed a shocking yellow and became something. Became a spirit. The body had become a spirit. And that spirit was coming towards me.

All went black.

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What I did not know is that the little, broken winged canary had changed me. Not mentally, but physically.

____

"Madelyn..." A voice said. I struggled to open my eyes, but I did. It was my father, looking at me. My mom was there too.